


Bravest Freelancers

by supercasey



Series: Red Vs. Blue Bravest Freelancers!AU [1]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bravest Warriors, Alternate Universes, Babies, Bravest Freelancers, Bravest Warriors AU, Chapters Are Episodes, Crazy Adventures, Cuties, Episodes, F/M, Fluff, Freedancers, Freelancers - Freeform, Inspired by Art, Inspired by Churboose's Art, M/M, alot of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-07
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-18 11:41:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1427164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercasey/pseuds/supercasey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're the Bravest Freelancers, a group created by a man known only as "The Director", meant only to protect the galaxy and all within it. Join them on their crazy adventures as they jump through portals, explore alternate universes, meet their future selves, and even find a bit of romance! Whether they're just hanging out as best friends or fighting off villains of all kinds, the Bravest Freelancers are always a sight to be seen... unless they left Wash in charge of weapons again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Episode 1: The Rookie From Seattle

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by churboose on Tumblr, they have amazing art and made this AU awhile back, here's the link;
> 
> http://churboose.tumblr.com/tagged/bravest-freelancers

A loud creaking could be heard throughout the large and expansive ship as a young man walked it's empty hallways, being careful to not bump into anything, in fear of stirring unnecessary attention to himself. This young man was David Cooper, a man in his early twenties who had been called upon by The Director himself to join the galaxy famous team known as the Bravest Freelancers. Before, he had worked as an ordinary ODST, but for reasons beyond his knowledge, he was being hand-picked to join the Bravest Freelancers. At the very least for him, he already knew two of the people on the team. Agent Connecticut had been a friend of his as a teenager, after meeting her on an online chat site. He also knew Agent Maine, who he had worked as partners with during the harder episodes of the war between the Covenant and the humans.

Pushing that aside, David was careful not to make a sound as he walked the halls, seeing as it was around three AM and he seriously doubted anyone would've stayed up to greet him. Well, Connie and Maine might, but David vividly remembered that Maine was NOT a morning person (Meaning he'd be asleep til noon tomorrow) and Connie wasn't exactly the most patient person he knew (That could've changed by now though, he hadn't seen her in two years after all). As David opened the door to the lounge, he was stunned, staring with wide eyes underneath his regulation ODST helmet at the scene before him. Nine other people were scattered around in the well-lite room in front of David, all either in the small kitchen area, on the couch, or leaning on the walls chattering on about stuff (Probably super secret Freelancer stuff, David had no way of knowing though).

One of the guys looked up, he seemed friendly enough; he had one eye blinded, with chocolate colored hair that seemed to shoot a bit upwards and cloud blue eyes. The guy reeked of friendliness and even a bit of a playful, teasing nature. "About time you got here, rookie." He greeted, walking right up to David and shaking his hand kindly. "The names Agent New York, but everyone here just calls me York."

David nodded, smiling underneath his helmet at York. "Hello, sir." He said in reply. "I'm David, David Cooper."

"Jesus Christ, are you seriously gonna call me sir?" York asked, chuckling at the new recruit. "And what's with being polite? Whatever, it'll pass eventually, I still remember when CT would call 'Lina ma'am."

"That was never a bad thing, York." Carolina reminded him; she was dressed in aqua marine armor. Her hair was long and flowing, a beautiful red color, while her eyes were as green as emeralds. She was truly a sight to be seen. "I'm Carolina, rookie. I'm the leader around her, which means if anyone is giving orders, it'll be either me or The Director."

A man in white armor with black hair and a very fine mustache soon joined the small group, smiling widely, although, his mustache covered most of it. "Here, lad! You can call me Wyoming, but my real name is Reginald!" He said, patting David heavily on the back, making the younger man wince. "My apologizes, lad. Didn't mean to hurt you."

"I keep telling you to be more gentle, Reggie!" A man said, quickly approaching. He had long, black hair that was done up in a ponytail, accompanied by bright brown eyes. "I'm Butch Flowers, but around here, I'm called Agent Florida. May I just say, I've been giddy all weekend waiting to meet you!" The man sounded far too jolly for his own good.

Connie soon joined in, along with Maine and the twins. "Hey, Dave." She greeted, along with a growl from Maine. Connie's hair was still a dark brown, but it was now half shaved off (Much to David's horror) while her eyes remained that hazel brown that he remembered so fondly. Maine was without his helmet, revealing his bald head and grey eyes that truly spooked David.

"So, this is the new rookie?" A woman with short, blonde hair asked. Her eyes were a cloudy blue, much like York's. "He'll be dead by tomorrow night." She promised solemnly, making David gulp as he pulled at the collar of his sweater.

"Go easy on him, tiger." The other man said softly, he looked just like the woman, but was taller and... well, a dude. "Sorry about South, she's kinda... like that. I'm North Dakota, and my little sister here is South Dakota."

South elbowed North, receiving a muffled grunt. "We're twins, he's only three minutes older than me."

"I thought it was five minutes." York said, only to receive a bonk to the head from South. "Oh come on, I was just asking a question; why do you always aim for the head anyhow?" He rubbed at his aching noggin, cursing quietly before grinning at David. "So, you got a name yet from The Director?"

David shrugged, immediately diving into his backpack, emptying out a few magazines (All pet ones), a grey and yellow toothbrush, an album full of cat pictures, several manuals, and an old pocket knife. "Let's see... I might have something on that in one of my manuals. I just need to look for it is all; I'm sure I can find it, I'll take care of the mess afterwards, sir."

South eyed the mess of random stuff curiously, picking up one of the magazines and flipping through it. "What's with your thing on pets, rookie? I've never seen so many pet magazines in my entire life."

David quickly sorted out the mess, placing everything in organized piles. "Oh, it's nothing." He assured her, flipping through one of the manuals he had on the Bravest Freelancers. "I just like animals is all, especially anything to do with cats."

"Geez, rookie. I didn't even KNOW our project had this many manuals." A voice said, a young woman soon approached David. Her hair was short and auburn, while her eyes were a dusty grey that reminded David a bit of Maine's eyes. "I'm 479er by the way; I'm this teams pilot for their ship."

"You have a ship!?" David asked before slapping his forehead (Only succeeding in bonking his ODST helmet). "Of course, how could I forget? That's all in manual 172; 'Freelancer's Guide To Air- Carriers'."

Just before David could continue rambling on about manuals and cats (We all know he would) a call came in, making the room flash a violent green. "At least it's not a mission." Carolina muttered, pointing towards a door. "Come on, rookie. A green light means The Director is calling us, probably wants to know if you made it or not."

"Yes, sir- I mean ma'am!" David said, quickly smashing everything back into his bag and following after Carolina and the others.

The mission briefing room was quite large, all colored white and blue, just as the rest of the base was. A large, plasma screen TV was attached to the ceiling, no doubt used for communicating with people over video chat. Everyone seemed to settle around, either leaning on the walls or sitting on tables/chairs. David felt a bit lost as to where to stand or sit, so he simply locked his hands behind his back, swaying back and forth as he stared idly at the computer screen. Soon, the system sparked to life and a man with the same emerald green eyes as Carolina (How odd, David thought) and jet black hair faced them, a small pair of glasses helped guard the mans eyes while a black goatee covered his chin happily. He reeked of utter strength and power over the heroes, and David couldn't help but gulp and try to not keep too much eye-contact with The Director.

"Morning, Freelancers." The Director greeted, staring down particularly at David Cooper. "And hello to you, Mr. Cooper. I see you made it to the base without much trouble, correct?" He asked curiously.

David nodded in confirmation. "Yes, sir. Everything seems alright thus far."

"Very good. I've been thinking on what your agent name shall be, and will give you the choice between Washington and Delaware." The Director explained, already pulling out an ipad like item to help store David's decision.

David thought about it for a moment, mulling over the options. "Hm, well, I did grow up in Seattle... so I guess... I'll just be Agent Washington, sir." He decided, smiling a bit underneath as the name seemed to click together in his head and stick. He liked it, alot, it had a good ring to it.

The Director nodded in acceptance. "Very good, Agent Washington. I'll be checking in soon enough, your armor should be in your room. One of the other agents will lead you there. Goodnight, Freelancers."

Everyone saluted to The Director as the transmission cut off, leaving Washington to look around warily, not knowing really what to say next. "So, I guess we'll be calling you Washington, mate?" Wyoming asked, patting Washington on the back heavily again. "It suits you, boy."

"Washington? Wow, that's a bit of a mouthful, rookie. How about we just call you Wash instead?" York suggested, smirking as a few people nodded in agreement on the nickname. "So it's settled, Wash it is."

"Here," Carolina said, grabbing Wash by the arm and more or less dragging him towards the door with her incredible strength. "I'll take you to your room, it's better than letting York or South prank you on your first night."

York huffed childishly at Carolina. "I wasn't gonna do that... yet." He winked at Wash, who shivered a bit in response, much to York's amusement. "I have a feeling that you'll be alot of fun, rookie. Who knows, maybe you'll last longer than Georgia."

"What happened to Geo-" Washington was cut off as the door slammed shut behind himself and Carolina, leaving the question to hang in the air.

"Um... we're not really gonna tell him what happened to Georgia, right?" Connie asked, giving York a long look.

North shook his head. "Naw, let it just be our little secret. Hopefully we'll just never have to use jet-packs again..."

"Yeah... poor Georgia." Florida muttered, ushering in a moment of silence for the fallen Freelancer.

...

"So, this is it, call if you find anything that might've been Georgia's in here." Carolina said as she opened the door to the bedroom, allowing Wash to trot past her and look around idly. "It's yours to decorate as you see fit, but as a note, if you think that you'll die quickly... don't decorate too much, it took forever to clean up all of Georgia's posters."

"Okay... um, one thing, what happened to Georg-" Washington was cut off as Carolina slammed the door shut, leaving him to idly wonder what happened to the other man before he arrived.

Washington looked around curiously, staring at the empty walls with interest. The place wasn't exactly huge, but it would easily fit Washington's standards of living. The walls were painted grey, while the carpet was yellow (As was most of the stuff Wash owned, he loved both the colors grey and yellow). Wash froze though as he came across a large, glass case in the corner of the room. Inside, a suit of armor was there, painted grey with a yellow stripe down the middle of the helmet along with yellow shoulder pads. It looked new, much newer than anything Wash had ever seen. He had grown up his whole life in Seattle, to a very poor family to be exact, and had never had many luxuries at all. All of his clothes had been hand-me-downs from his mother and father while all of his other stuff was from their childhoods.

The young Freelancer slowly unpacked, starting with dumping all of his clothes in the closet and drawers of a dresser, than proceeded to tape up all of his posters, including all of the ones he had gotten beaten up for in military school. Afterwards, Washington sat on his bed, staring out the window with worry filled eyes. He had gotten dressed... sort of, only putting on the new helmet and wearing yellow boxers and a grey T-shirt to go with it. The sky outside was beautiful, and soon, one of the many suns around that planet would rise to awaken everyone who was asleep. Washington yawned, sprawling out on his bed like a cat as he closed his eyes beneath the helmet. Tomorrow would be the beginning of something amazing, something he'd never even dreamed of before.

TO BE CONTINUED...

~Supercasey.


	2. Episode 2: Worm Holes And Pilots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 2: During a mission gone wrong, Wyoming manages to piss off a Aeon Worm, who then proceeds to send the Freelancers spiraling through alternate universes in search of 479er, who's been kidnapped by the Aeon Worm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone liked the first chapter, here's our next one! Based off of churboose's picture here: http://churboose.tumblr.com/post/56607974132/episode-where-wash-gets-them-stuck-reality-hopping
> 
> It's pretty cute.

"Come on, York! You've been in there for three hours!" North yelled, banging on the door to the Holo-John angrily, which was rare for him considering he was a gentle giant.

"Come on Carolina, have fun Carolina, you're always being such a bitch. Come on Carolina, let's run Carolina. We'll leave this place, fly through space, and start a different life. And have babies with green eyes!" Came York's voice, singing some kind of song loudly and beautifully, it was honestly very soothing.

North sighed, realizing he wasn't getting anywhere. He looked behind himself, seeing South, Wash, Maine, and Carolina all lined up to use the restroom and shower. South looked irritated, dressed in a pink and green nightgown with a towel hanging over her shoulder. Washington was hopping from foot to foot, looking like he really needed to go, he was dressed in a grey T-shirt, yellow shorts, and his helmet. Maine looked upset, his arms crossed over his chest while a towel was resting on the back of his neck, he was only dressed in white boxers and a white T-shirt. Carolina was last in line, and looked the most irritated, tapping her foot angrily as she held her blue towel, glaring daggers in her aqua nightgown at the bathroom door. If it were up to her, Carolina would add another bathroom into the base, but it lacked more than two.

"Is he done in there yet?" South asked angrily, looking ready to breakdown the door herself.

North sighed, trying to calm himself down. "No, he's off in his own little world by the sounds of it."

"If he doesn't hurry, I'll sick Maine on him." Carolina promised, Maine nodded in agreement.

Before anything could be said in reply, the alarms flashed red, meaning a mission was starting. "Mission time!" Florida yelled over the intercom, his voice chipper and happy as a lamb, despite the fact that it was very early in the morning.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Washington yelled angrily, still holding his legs together tightly. "This is the worst morning ever, of all time."

"Quit your whining, Wash." South ordered, walking past him in a huff. "You can use the bathroom on the ship."

Washington paused. "Wait... we have a toilet on the ship?" He asked. Before anyone could answer, he was running full speed for the hella-carrier. "I'll see you guys on the ship!" He yelled over his shoulder, disappearing around a corner.

"Washington, you get your ass back here for the mission briefing!" Carolina yelled, but made no move to follow after the younger man. "Goddammit." She muttered, walking away towards the briefing room in a huff. "Someone get York before we forget him here."

"On it." North said, opening the door to the Holo-John and entering as soon as everyone else was gone.

Inside of the Holo-John, York had put on one of his favorite holograms, one North was quite familiar with. The place was a huge park, in the middle of spring by the looks of it. Snow was melting everywhere, leaving only small patches of the white substance around. There were kids playing around on a swing-set, while some simply played tag on the grass. Not far off, North spotted York. He was seated on a park bench, strumming a guitar peacefully. He was surrounded by adoring fans, while a hologramed Carolina was beside him, leaning on his side as she listened to him play his guitar. North honestly felt bad for York, especially when he saw this hologram. Not only was York always going to be in love with Carolina and going after her, but he'd probably never have her in his arms.

Even so, North had hope that York's fantasy would one day be a reality (He also had hope that Carolina would never find out about this particular hologram). Everyone had their own separate holograms in the Holo-John, some more ridiculous than others. North had a hologram where he's a kindergarten teacher (He always loved kids), South has one where she's fighting tons of guards in a huge base on a secret mission, Wyoming had one of a rainy day in England, Florida had one of a flower patch surrounded by forest animals, Connie had one that featured herself as a government spy, Maine had one of an empty room with a chair and a gun to polish, 479er had one of herself driving a race car, and Washington had one filled with nothing but cats and Catbugs.

"Come on, York." North said softly, grabbing York by the arm to make the shorter man gaze up at him. North briefly noted that both of York's eyes were fully functional and un-scarred, just like they used to be, before the mission accident a few months prior. "Stop daydreaming. We got a mission, buddy."

York nodded, but North easily spotted the sadness in his eyes. "FILSS, save and flush please." He ordered, yanking up his pants (North was glad he hadn't noticed they were down before).

With that, York stood, smirking at North in the regular bathroom as it returned to normal. "Whelp, let's go, buddy!" He said, leading the taller man out the door.

...

"Goddammit, more to the left!" 479er yelled angrily to South, who was struggling along with Florida to push a huge canon type weapon onto the eagle shaped ship. "Come on, what are we paying you for?"

"You're not paying me anything, bitch!" South screamed, growling under her breath as she gave the canon another push. "Damn that pilot... fucking brain damaged from flying too high."

Florida sighed, crouching down on one knee as he struggled to catch his breath. "I wouldn't go as far as to call her brain damaged... but the smallest bit bossy might work for describing her, not that being bossy is a bad thing, it's just-"

"Florida?" South asked, glaring at the older man.

Florida brightened up. "Yes?" He asked in return.

"Shut the fuck up." South ordered before going right back to pushing the heavy machine.

"Oh... I'm sorry, South. I'll try to be more of a team player." Florida assured the other sadly, helping South finally get the canon on board.

South growled, shoving Florida to the side as she left the ship hanger. "I don't think being a 'team player' is your problem, chap." Wyoming said as he went to help Florida off the floor, where he had fallen after South had shoved him over.

Florida sighed, scratching his head sadly as he stared after South, who looked to be discussing something with 479er and North, North was more than likely trying to settle a rather loud argument. "I just don't understand her, Reggie. I've tried doing yoga with her, offering her tea, even trying some poetry. I think South dislikes me to some level."

Wyoming looked a little sorry for Florida, giving him a calm pat on the back, much gentler than the one he had given to Washington two months ago on his first day (Or morning rather). "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I like you, chap."

"Really?" Florida asked, smiling at his best friend kindly.

"Of course, who else am I to share tea with at four o'clock sharp?" Wyoming inquired, leading his friend into the ship. "Come now, let us be off."

...

The ship was rather quiet as the Freelancers zoomed through space. 479er was up front, flying the vehicle, with Carolina there to keep her company. York was strumming his guitar, allowing Florida to hum or sing a few tunes as he practiced. Washington was flopped back in his seat, reading by the looks of it either a manual or magazine about kitties. Connie was asleep, leaning next to Maine, who was also out like a light. North and South were arguing, well, South was arguing, North was just sitting there and letting his twin vent. After a few seconds, the alarms blared, making North and South pause, Connie and Maine shoot up, Washington yelp and toss his magazine in surprise, and Florida and York stop dead in their tracks. Everyone watched as a hologram appeared of some kind of worm... thingy, it looked to be a disguise. 

"Hello, Freelancers." It said, eying everyone, especially 479er as she and Carolina entered the main room. "And hello to you, Lacy."

"How do you know my name, jackass?" 479er, or apparently, Lacy, asked as she glared at the worm creature. "And why're you a worm?"

The worm seemed to almost chuckle. "Aw... so many questions, my dear. Do not worry, no harm will come to your little friends if you simply surrender to me. I will take you to the See-Through-Zone... and make you my queen for all eternity." He explained.

"The See-Through-Zone?" York repeated, looking amazingly at the creature. "But I thought only ghosts and the Aeon Worm... oh shit." He stopped dead in his tracks, realizing all too quickly just what this creature was.

"You're telling me." Carolina muttered, rubbing at the small gem on her chest plate to send out her personal armor pet, Iota and Eta, two snakes. "Bravest Freelancers, attack!"

Washington rubbed his gem too, sending out Epsilon, a light blue cat creature. "Um... what do we fight? It's a hologram." He pointed out, but stopped as the worm came to life and grasped 479er with it's tail. "Aw man... why do I always gotta open my big mouth?"

Florida looked puzzled, turning on his own sticker gem, which, sadly, didn't have a name, it was merely a monkey creature. "Why do you want to take 479er? I mean, she's a swell gal, but that's no reason to kidnap her." He argued kindly.

"Silence, mortal!" The Aeon Worm ordered. "I am done with your kinds talk."

"Now you see here!" Wyoming started, glaring angrily at the worm. "You can jump into our ship, kidnap our pilot, and insult us! But good sir, I will not stand to see you call my best friend a 'mortal'!" He rubbed his sticker, making his pigeon; Gamma, appear. "Come at me ya'h daft!"

In short, the Aeon Worm was NOT pleased. "Fools... I will punish you by sending you spiraling through universes!" Just as the universe seemed to begin to change, everyone could easily hear Wyoming say bollocks very loudly.

...

When Carolina awoke, she definitely felt... different. When she sat up, she looked at her chest... only to find her boobs gone! Looking around, she found that the other Freelancers had their genders switched as well. York had long, flowing brown hair, her breasts seemed pretty big compared to most boobs. Washington still had her helmet on, but rather small boobs could be seen from under her armor, she seemed peaceful. North was still tall, but her hair was longer and done up in pigtails. South had his hair cut short, just like he did as a girl, but it was un-dyed, to Carolina's surprise. Maine seemed... normal, her head was still bald, but lord, she had amazing boobs... what the fuck was Carolina saying? No, he was not attracted to Maine in this state, but obviously, his new hormones had other plans for him.

Florida, Wyoming and Connie were off to the side, all also gender-bent. Florida's hair was, amazingly, short and had a hairband holding it back. Wyoming's beautiful mustache was gone (She'd throw a fit over that), but she had pretty nice boobs by the looks of it. Connie had his hair half-shaved still, but it looked almost better now that he was a boy, as well as finely tuned muscles. Sitting up, Carolina looked around more. The Aeon Worm was gone, along with 479er. Was Carolina worried? Hell no, if anything, she was expecting 479er to give that worm the mouthful of a life time. If anyone could talk their way out of Hell, it was 479er. Standing up now, Carolina stretched, tapping York with his boot in an attempt to wake the woman up.

"York, get up!" Carolina yelled, kicking York a bit harder now. "Our genders got swapped!"

"Hm..." York slowly began to wake up, along with everyone else. "Oh shit." She said, her voice higher pitched and sweet. "I'm a chick... a super sexy chick! Holy shit, are these what boobs feel like? They're fantastic!"

Connie chuckled to himself. "Wait til you start your period..." He muttered, standing up... only to still be short as fuck. "Goddammit, not even in this universe."

Washington soon got up, only to find out that she was shorter than Connie by far. "Aw man..." She whimpered, her voice shrill and sweet. "I can't believe I'm short than CT... this is the worst universe ever, of all time."

"I kinda like it." Florida said, swaying her hips as she stood up, smiling happily at everyone around her. "These curves are amazing, and my hairs never felt so soft!"

"Thanks for lighting the mood, Florida." North commented as she also got up, stretching.

Before anything else could happen, a bright light filled the room. "Not again!" Wyoming yelled, just as the universe changed once more.

...

This time, it was Maine who awoke first. He opened his eyes, only to find everything alot... bigger. How odd. He tried to stand, only to feel his wing pull him into the air. Wait, he didn't have wings. Looking into a mirror nearby, Maine was surprised to find himself as... a Catbug? Someone had some explaining to do. He looked around, only to see all the other Freelancers as Catbugs... except Washington, who couldn't be happier. The younger man was happily petting Carolina, while Connie and Wyoming purred on his shoulders. On his head, Florida sat purring as well, patting his paws on Wash's visor. Wash seemed content, happily giving each of the Freelancers equal chunks of affection and attention. With a growl, Maine flew over to Wash, who smiled happily at him, but frowned underneath his helmet as Maine scowled at him.

"Can't we just stay in this universe?" Washington asked, almost begging the Catbug to let him stay in this paradise. After a few moments of silence from Maine, Wash sighed, looking very disappointed. "Okay... let's go find the Aeon Worm."

A few wake up calls later and the multicolored Catbugs were following a still content Washington through the ship, trying to make out where the Aeon Worm might be. Just as things were starting to look hopeless, Florida suddenly starting hopping up and down. "That's it!" He declared, grabbing Wyoming's paw as he led the Catbug towards the main ship hull. "Come on, I have an idea."

...

"Just say your lines, Wyoming!" Florida said from the shadows, all the other Freelancers were crowded behind Washington, who was seated in a closet, the door partly open so that he could look outside. "If this works, we can stop the Aeon Worm and save 479er!"

"Are you sure?" Wyoming asked, looked largely concerned as he brushed his mustache worriedly. "I'm not sure if humiliating myself with make our little friend happy."

Washington shrugged. "Well, the Aeon Worm might forgive us if he sees you take a hit to your manhood... but if things don't go right, we can always just stay here." Everyone stared at Wash, who looked unfazed by their glares and stares. "I'm just saying, it's great here! Best universe ever-"

"Of all time. Yes, we know, lad." Wyoming muttered, slowly taking out a razor and shaving cream. "Well... here's to saving our friend..."

[The next part has been censored in order to stop humanity from breaking down from such a terrible occurrence, so here is the edited version:]

With a deep breath, Wyoming [BLEEPED] his mustache. As the ground shook, the Aeon Worm appeared, apparently giddy as he watched Wyoming sob over the remains of his beautiful mustache. "Hm... how amusing to see such a foul mortal at his knees... very amusing. Don't you agree, my love?" He asked, holding up 479er, who was in a beautiful black dress.

"Allow me to answer that in the simplest way possible," 479er offered, sticking both middle fingers up at the Aeon Worm. "-Fuck you."

"You show him who's boss!" South yelled from the shadows, thankfully not giving away her position.

After a second, Washington and the Catbug army busted out of the closet, glaring at the Aeon Worm (Well, Washington MIGHT have been glaring, he's wearing a helmet for God sake!). "Can I say it since I'm the only human besides 479er?" Wash asked Carolina curiously.

"No, Wash." Carolina said, glaring for a second at Wash before glaring again at the Aeon Worm. "Bravest Freelancers, attack!" With that, all of the Catbugs and Washington ran at the Aeon Worm, guns 'a blazing.

Immediately grabbing 479er, Washington made a thumbs up at Wyoming. "Now, Wyoming!" He ordered, guarding 479er as a blast went off.

The canon hit the Aeon Worm full force, destroying it's mortal form and returning it back to the See-Through-Zone. As the dust settled, everyone looked up to see that everything had returned to normal. York sighed a breath of relief, his shoulders sagging lazily. "Thank God... I thought I'd never feel normal ever again..."

"I'll miss you, Catbug Universe..." Washington said sadly, crossing his arms as he stared at floor. At the very least, Epsilon came out to rub against his legs, hoping to sooth his masters sorrow to some degree.

"Whatever, at least now I'm not in that awful dress." 479er said, glad to be back in her regular outfit once more. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the ship." With that, she disappeared into the ships hull.

As the Freelancers went off to bed, York followed after Carolina, putting an arm around her waist as he walked beside her peacefully. "So, one Hell of a crazy day, huh 'Lina?" He inquired, smiling at the woman he loved so dearly.

Carolina shrugged, opening her bedroom with a sigh. "We've seen worse." She stated simply, shutting the door behind her, leaving York to stare at her door with a deep, sad sigh of defeat.

"I guess we have." York said, walking away from the bedroom.

TO BE CONTINUED...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episode 3: When the Freelancers all play a game of D&D, things start going from bad to worse. Can York lead them all to save the fair Princess Carolina? Will the girls show the men who the real gamers of the team are?


	3. A Hero's Duty

"Okay, what the fuck is this?" York asked as he entered the living room, only to see Connie, Maine and Washington all huddled around a long, picnic table.

The other Freelancers were dressed oddly, Wash still managed to have his helmet on, but he had a stuffed tiger taped to the top, as well as a homemade bow and arrow set. Connie was in a long, brown dress that went beautifully with her hair, the unshaven half being done up in a bun, supporting a brown paper crown that she had placed on her noggin. Maine was... dressed in armor by the looks of it, not Freelancers armor, more like knight armor, the silver coloring down with fake chain-mail. All three of the Freelancers jumped in surprise at York's question, swinging around to face him. All was quiet, Maine had a bunch of dice in his fist, still clenched, as if he considered either tossing them onto the table or chucking them at York.

"Uh..." Connie looked at her friends, then back at York. "We're... playing D&D together, it's game night."

As silence filled the room, the dice fell from Maine's fist, nobody bothered to cheer over the natural twenty for the twenty-sider. "Wait... you're all playing D&D... AND YOU DIDN'T INVITE ME!?" York yelled, looking horrified at his friends.

Wash was dead quiet, giving york the oddest look (He might have been smiling, but who knows). "You game?" He asked, sitting up a bit.

Before York could answer, Florida came back into the room, wearing a wizard hat, a long robe, and carrying a pizza box. "Hey, guys! Pizzas here! Oh, hey York, you gonna play too?" The Freelancer questioned.

York seated himself beside Wash, smiling at the others. "Sure, why don't we let everyone play too? After all, missions have been rough on everyone lately, we could use some down time."

"Good point, York." Florida said, smiling happily. "This is gonna be swell!"

...

A large forest surrounded the Freelancers as they strolled through the large, expansive greenery. After the other Freelancers had agreed to play, North and South had successfully talked everyone into using the Holo-John for the game, in order to make it seem more real. They were all their own classes, York was a Warrior, South was a Barbarian, North was a Druid, Wyoming was a Marksmen, Connie was a Rouge, Florida was a Wizard, Washington was a Ranger, Maine was a Paladin, and Carolina was a Knight. They had all split into separate teams, Wash, Carolina, and Connie were a team, York, North, and South were a team, and Wyoming, Florida, and Maine were a team.

"So, what's our current quest?" Carolina asked, she had on teal colored armor. "Any warriors or monsters we need to fight, maybe even a dragon?"

Wash shrugged. "Well, we need to find the village first, then we'll just buy our supplies and ask around for a quest." He explained, he had a giant white and blue Catbug as his pet, named Epsilon. "The village is called Blastfort, it should be around here somewhere."

"Roll for Sneak!" Connie warned, throwing out a twenty sider... it was a twelve. "Alright, I'm gonna start sneaking, who knows if there are Goblins nearby."

Carolina nodded in agreement. "Fine, me and Wash will try and draw them out. Come on, Wash." She said, walking ahead of the younger Freelancers.

Washington followed close behind, riding on top of his Catbug smoothly. "Right behind ya'h, boss!"

...

"That's it, we're totally lost!" South yelled, slamming her battle axe into the ground with a fit of rage. "Dammit, I knew I should gone with Carolina and Connie, but NO, twins gotta stick together, don't they, North?"

"Relax, South." North assured the other twin, holding a map with a questioning gaze. "Uh, York, shouldn't we go to the village first for supplies?"

York chuckled, already starting to try and climb up the side of the mountain. "Do I LOOK like a sissy? Who even needs supplies, we already got a few potions and our weapons, we'll be fine!"

"You're a moron." South deadpanned, but that in no way kept her from starting to climb after York. "Come on, North! Don't wuss out on us now!" She told her brother.

North was tempted to curse under his breath, be he resisted the pointless action. "I'm coming." He replied, using his Druid powers to have a tree come to life and starting carrying him to the top. "See you guys at the top."

"Oh, so it's a race, huh!?" South yelled, a fire seeming to burn in her eyes.

"What? No, I'm ju-" North was cut off as South barreled past him in climbing, giggling the whole time at the thought of beating her brother.

"See you bitches at the top!" South yelled, smiling evilly as she rushed ahead.

York sighed. "Dang it, come n, No-... North?" He looked around, soon spotting North way ahead of him, neck and neck with his sister. 'You gotta me kidding me, man!"

"Sorry, York!" North apologized, smirking at his friend from his seat in the tree's soft leaves. "I can't let my baby sister win like that, you can understand!"

"I'm gonna spit in your food, North!" York promised, panting as he attempted to keep up wit the taller and older Freelancer. "And it won't be spit, if you know what I mean!"

...

"This village is so beautiful!" Florida exclaimed, poking around in the many shops in Blastfort. "Wow, just look at the craftsmanship of these vases!"

Wyoming chuckled, standing behind his friend as he carried a surplus of arrows in a shopping basket under his arm. "You like that one, Flowers?" He asked, not bothering to use the name Florida since Carolina wasn't there to make him do so. "I'll get it for you if you'd like."

As Wyoming bought a blue vase with light blue flowers on it, he turned to Maine, who was examining a strange egg at a stand with great intensity. "Find something?" He asked the older man, looking at the pastel white and grey egg curiously.

Maine nodded, his gaze never leaving the large egg. "I'll get it for you." Wyoming said, grabbing the egg carefully.

"Hey, Reggie?" Florida asked, giving his best friend an odd look. "How are you paying for all of this?"

"Pay?" Wyoming parroted, smirking at the younger man. "What do you mean pay? I took a ton of points into sneaking and stealing, Flowers."

Florida nodded. "Won't that hurt your Allegiance at all?" He asked curiously.

"I chose Chaotic Good when Carolina wasn't looking." Wyoming admitted, suddenly going a bit pale. "Uh... let's go, I think one of the Shopkeepers found out I took their things." He warned, leading the team away, Maine holding the egg protectively to his chest.

...

"This was a horrible idea!" Washington screamed, being carried upside-down on a huge stick, his wrists and ankles tied animal style as a group of Goblins carried him to their village. "I'm gonna be eaten by Goblins, all because I never fed that stupid turtle my Grandma gave me when I was seven. YOU HAPPY MR. SNAPPERS!?" He asked angrily, glaring at the digital sky.

"Washington!" A voice yelled from the tree tops, making the Goblins stop and try to find whoever had made the noises.

Wash's eyes got wide under his helmet. "Mr. Snappers?" He asked the Heavens.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Carolina and Connie jumped out, both looking ready for war. "Let's go!" Connie yelled, using her sticker to send out her brown mouse pet, which turned into a Rouge's long sword. "I'm coming, Wash!"

The Goblins readied for actions, all dropping Wash and drawing out pointed sticks. "How did you even get captured, these guys barely have weapons." Carolina pointed out.

"I got a lot of bad rolls..." Wash admitted sadly, struggling to try and untie himself. "I could use a hand here!"

"Stop your bitching, we'll get you out in a second." Carolina assured Washington, using her giant combination of her snakes to create a huge sword. "I'll stop the Goblins. Connie, you get Wash."

Connie nodded, quickly cutting Wash free and helping him up, while Carolina started smashing through Goblins left and right, dodging hits and landing high rolls. The other younger Freelancers were silent, occasionally attacking a few Goblins who attempted to run for it, but otherwise watched as Carolina more or less decimated every living Goblin in the forest. After a long while (No one kept track of time, they were too busy watching or fighting), Carolina finally beheaded the last Goblin, panting heavily as she watched it's corpse fall to the ground, deafening thump residing it's last movement.

Connie smirked, watching Carolina dismiss Iota and Eta back to the sticker realm thingy-ma-bob. "Come on, let's go see if the others are dead or not." Carolina ordered, strolling by the younger adults as if nothing had happened.

"You got it, boss." Wash muttered, looking back a few times at the corpses. After Connie called for him to hurry it up, he sprinted to catch up with the others, deciding to let the dead lie.

...

Meanwhile, North and South had finally gotten to the top the mountain, at the exact same time. South glared at North, while the other twin just looked glad that his sister hadn't out done him. "You cheated!" South yelled, glaring at the tree her brother sat upon with a fiery hatred. "You can't use magic or skills to win!"

"You never said I couldn't." North pointed out smugly, smiling at the shorter twin from his leafy throne. "I'm surprised you even kept up with me, little sis."

"I demand a rematch!" South said sternly, glaring at her brother before turning towards the ledge, smirking. "Hurry it up York, we need you as a referee for this one!"

York, coughing and wheezing, finally dragged himself onto the top of the giant mountain, clutching his stomach with a loud groan. "Why... didn't you... slow down when I asked you to?" He managed to ask, laying nearly motionless.

"You were holding us back." South deadpanned, hands on her hips, as if York had been the one who messed up. "We had to leave you behind, natural selection would've taken you anyways."

York looked at North pleadingly. "Aren't you gonna say something here!? You both left we when those Skeletons ambushed us, I could've been killed!" 

North shrugged nonchalantly. "You WERE going pretty slow." He admitted almost too calmly. "But hey, you're not dead, and that's what matters. There's no need to freak out about it, besides, if I had let South win, do you think she would've let me live it down?"

"I hate both of you." York said angrily, crossing his arms as he sat curled up on his side. "I hope you both die on our next mission."

Suddenly, Wyoming, Maine, and Florida came out of nowhere, riding to the top of the mountain by riding what looked to be the village guard's horses. "How'd you all get here so fast?" Florida asked curiously.

"Hansel and Gretel here decided it would be a GREAT idea to race up the mountain, leaving me to nearly die to a Skeleton hoard!" York yelled, pouting angrily.

"Well, old chap. Just goes to show how competitive some siblings can be. This reminds me of when I was about-" Wyoming was cut off as Carolina, Connie, and Washington came crashing onto the mountain, riding on Epsilon. "Bollocks!"

"We're here!" Carolina announced, hopping off of Epsilon, patting his head in appreciation for taking them there.

Washington and Connie were clutching each other for dear life, staring at Carolina with wide eyes. "Never let her drive again." Connie whispered to Wash, who nodded quickly as they both slowly let go and clambered off of Epsilon. "So, what's our mission now? We needed to save a princess, fight Goblins, and kill a drag-"

"Goblins are taken care of." Carolina said, both Wash and Connie nodded in agreement. "We won't be seeing any of those anytime soon."

South gave York a long look, eventually picking him up bridal style like a person would an injured man or woman. "Does York count as a princess? If he does, then that's handled."

York glared at South, arms still crossed aggressively. "Does 'leaving the princess for dead' count as saving them?" He questioned sarcastically.

"Well you survived." North pointed out, smiling a bit. "And I did at one point send a Magical Bush to save you, so... I guess I saved you!"

South dropped York abruptly, making the man yelp upon hitting the dirt. "That's a lie, I saved him by throwing daggers at the Skeletons!"

North shook his head stubbornly. "Not true, Theta saw me save him." He said matter-of-factly.

"No he didn't!" South yelled, ignoring Maine as he helped York to his feet.

"I think we're forgetting something..." Florida said, trailing off, Behind him, a huge, dark red dragon appeared from it's cave, breathing down his neck with soft puffs of smoke.

Everyone went still, staring with wide eyes at the massive dragon. "Um... lad?" Wyoming peeped out, everyone hid behind Maine, who looked oddly solemn as he faced an untimely death.

Florida was unfazed, still tapping his chin as he dove deep into his thoughts. "I just know something is missing... we got the Goblins.."

"Florida..." Connie trailed off, looking horrified as her mouse shivered in fear on her shoulder.

"We saved York... who apparently counts as our princess..." Florida continued, not even watching as the dragon sniffed him silently, licking it's lips at the flowery scent that radiated off of the Freelancer.

Finally, tired of everyone's fear and silence, it was York who finally screamed to save Florida's life. "BUTCH, LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!" He instructed.

Florida swung around, smiling up with wide eyes at the monstrous dragon. "Why, hello there, good sir! My, aren't you a kind looking fellow?" He praised, reaching out to pet the creature.

"FLORIDA!"

Suddenly, everything changed back into the bathroom, after 479er had opened the door to go in and use it. She stood there, frozen with a newspaper under her arm, as out of nowhere, Florida ended up petting her breast. Silence followed.

"Um... hello?" Wash offered up, looking bewildered as he sat squished at the bottom of the pile of Freelancers excluding Florida, who had all teleported into the bathtub. "This isn't what it looks like."

"I... I'm just gonna... find another bathroom." 479er decided, slowly backing away, closing the door behind her.

Everyone just sorta watched, most eyes were on Florida, who simply stood there with wide eyes. "I'll just... I'll just go." He decided awkwardly, waltzing away.

As everyone cleared out, the only ones who were left were Wash, Connie, and Maine, who all exchanged a look. All grinning, they turned to the control panel. "I say we do one more round." Wash suggested.

"Sounds cool. How about you, Maine?" Connie asked, looking to Maine.

As soon as Maine nodded, they warped back into their game, starting a new quest that would 'hopefully' not go wrong.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[Next Chapter: As more and more changes in the Freelancers lives, they begin to notice another odd character who keeps popping up out of nowhere. Who is this mysterious heroine? Why are they clad only in black? Who hired them? When are they going to strike next?]


	4. A Girl Named Tex Part 1

Nobody expected them to be home so soon; Hell, they weren’t expected home for another three days, but none-the-less, Agents Carolina, York, and Connie came waltzing through the doors, all covered in black soot. They all looked tired, but clearly had one Hell of a tale to tell. Lucky for them (Or not lucky), North and South were there to greet them, all looked perplexed as heck at the three heroes. Carolina looked pissed, York looked baffled, and Connie looked amused; there was definitely something up.

“Where’s the fire?” North joked, getting slugged in the arm by Carolina as a result. “Sorry. So, what exactly happened out there, people? Lost you after only three minutes on the field trackers.”

“We lost our signals; they were ready for us.” York stated flatly, rubbing his brown hair roughly after removing his beaten helmet. “They had us backed into a wall… until she showed up.”

Carolina visibly tensed, making South stare at her intently.

“Who was she?” South asked, a bit curious herself.

“Not entirely sure; she took off after killing everything but us on the battle field.” Connie explained, looking a bit amazed. “She was spectacular, you should’ve seen it.”

North saddened paused, concerned. “Wait, how do you know they were a girl?” He asked.

“A woman can tell.” Connie promised proudly, grinning at the much taller Freelancer, her stance full of enthusiasm despite her wrecked armor.

"Hello, lads, what's go- GREAT GATSBY, what in God's name happened to you all!?" Wyoming asked as he entered, Florida beside him shortly after hearing the yell. "I haven't seen that much soot since my days as a chimney sweeper!"

"I'm not even gonna ask if that's true. And to answer your question; some chick showed up and beat the shit out of the army that almost turned us into Freelancer salsa." York explained sarcastically, rolling his good eyes at Wyoming's comment.

"No need to get snippy, boy." Wyoming muttered, crossing his arms and tutting at the younger man.

"I'm not being snippy!" York snapped, but ceased any arguments as he saw Carolina clutching a plastic cup, the item cracking from her iron-strength grip. "'Lina... are you okay, man?" He asked, approaching her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Carolina shrugged him off, storming away. "I'm fine; I need to have a chat with The Director." She explained, letting the electronic door chop shut behind her.

"Geez, what's her problem?" South asked, raising an eyebrow at the closed door.

...

Meanwhile, Carolina hurriedly called up the Director, watching with narrowed eyes as the man picked up after a few rings. He looked as aged as ever, as well as extremely tired; this in no way lowered Carolina's anger that smouldered like flaring wood. She removed her helmet, shockingly green eyes unhappy as she crossed her arms, looking to the Director exactly as her mother, Allison. He sighed, seeing that Carolina was clearly upset, and rubbed his forehead tiredly, hoping to rid himself of his immense exhaustion.

"Hello, Agent Carolina." He greeted, watching the woman carefully. "I'm guessing your mission was a failure?"

"Who in the Hell was that woman?" Carolina asked angrily, eyes flaring violently, the green irises looking almost hurt. "I know you hired her; now what's her name?"

"Her name is Tex." The Director provided, sighing under his breath. "However, it is not at all important at the moment; how are the AI Units working on the fields, any malfunctions?"

Carolina glared harder. "They're fine; stop avoiding the subject. Where is she from, is she on our side, is she even a Freelancer too?" She asked.

"She is indeed a Freelancer like yourself, she simply prefers to work alone on missions." The Director explained. "Are Eta and Iota still working well together or are they arguing again?"

"The AI are fine!" Carolina snapped aggressively. "They're completely fine, just answer my questions, dad!"

It went quiet.

"You haven't referred to me as 'Dad' in a very long time, Agent Carolina." The Director stated, staring at his daughter in an almost sad mood. "That will be all for now; as for your Tex problem, it is being handled appropriately. She is on your side, Carolina." With that, the transmission cut off.

Carolina sighed, resting her hands on the console for support as she breathed heavily, trying to regain herself. "Great to see you too, Dad." She muttered, leaving the room without another word.

...

"Hey, boss!" Washington greeted as soon as he saw Carolina leave the communications room, oblivious to her tense mood. "How was the mission?"

"I'm sure you already know; South and Connie would've told everybody and their mothers by now." Carolina responded, her footsteps uneven.

Wash sighed, nodding at that. "I know, it's just... I heard what happened; you almost got killed and this guy-"

"-Freelancer."

"Freelancer... wait, what?" Wash stopped, staring at Carolina with wide eyes underneath the grey and yellow helmet. "There are other Freelancers out there?"

"Plenty; we're just assigned to this part of the galaxy." Carolina explained.

Wash still seemed perplexed by the idea, but hushed it away, refocusing on his upset leader. "Boss, I know it was a rough mission that ended badly, but at least you survived."

"You don't get it, do you, Wash?" Carolina asked, glaring at the younger Freelancer. "This woman... she's a Freelancer we've never even heard of before; it's understandable for you since you're still new around here, but I'm our leader, I should be aware of ever Freelancer that's out there. The Director hid her from us, meaning she must be important. I can't let a loose cannon go unsupervised in our part of the galaxy like this... but there's nothing I can do about it."

"You don't need to know everything, boss." Wash stated, sighing under his breath. "Nobody needs to; you're a great enough leader as it is, this won't make you a failure."

Carolina shook her head, walking away. "It's not even that, Wash. You know... I have a feeling this is only the beginning; so much is changing all at once. Do you think we're going too fast?"

Washington shook his head, smiling at the older Freelancer. "No, the Director knows what's good for us; he's given us everything. He'd never let us down; I'm sure everything will come together in no time, boss."

"I hope so." Carolina muttered, exiting into the empty hallway. "I don't know if we're ready for this though."

"We'll just have to be prepared then." Wash stated. "But until that day, we're still a great team; we'll get through whatever the galaxy has to throw at us." He watched her leave, smiling a bit as she left him alone to his thoughts.

She was right, things were going faster than anyone expected, but the Director would help them through it; he knew what he was doing after all. Everything would come together in good time.

To Be Continued

[Next Chapter: Things get hectic when Agent Texas finally shows her face after saving York's life, much to Carolina's anger. As she slowly begins to fit in and get along with the other Freelancers, Carolina begins suspecting that something isn't right about her, and recruits South to help her find out who Texas really is.]

~Supercasey.


	5. A Girl Named Tex Part 2

"And this is our base!" Washington explained, leading the other Freelancer through the highly decorated base. "I'll show you the barracks before you meet the team; I'm sure you're exhausted after your flight from Earth."

The mysterious Freelancer nodded. Wash simply shrugged, continuing on their tour. "Strong silent type, huh? Looks like Maine's got some competition... except, he's mute... you might be the one with the competition. Never mind, let's just go!" He hurried along, every so often checking to see that the other Freelancer was still following after him. "Here's my room!"

Washington's room was covered in posters, mostly animal and movie related ones. His floor was the same as it had been the day he moved in... aside from tons of coffee and beer stains thanks to himself and the occasional visit from Agent New York. His bed wasn't made, having been wrecked by a green and yellow Catbug, which had bee wings thanks to it's bee breeding. No one knew where he had gotten him, but he was named Hartford and Wash seemed to adore the little Catbug. There were clothes stacked up on the floor, having not been put away yet, while his desk was a disaster; soda pop cans, candy wrappers, stains, crumbled up papers, papers stacks, an old fashioned laptop, and a messy keyboard that was missing the 'Q' and 'B' keys. It seemed more like a college student's room more than an ex-ODST turned Freelancer's room.

"Don't mind the mess; I haven't bothered to clean it in awhile..." Washington trailed off, closing his door after the other Freelancer had had a proper look. "I'll show you York's room... he shouldn't be in there anyways, not 'til he gets out of the med-bay. By the way, thanks again for saving him."

"It was nothing." The woman Freelancer stated calmly, shrugging a bit.

Washington smiled under his helmet, nodding at that. "Right... so, York's room."

New York's room was... yeah, okay, his room was literally messier than Wash's room. His clothes were anywhere but in his drawers or closet (Unless the closet floor counts), pop cans and beer cans were everywhere, wrappers laid scattered on every surface, his desk was five times worse than Washington's, his bed looked like a tornado had hit it (With knives), and... yeah, we get it, his room looks like a five year old's before they clean it because their mommy told them to. Wash gave the skateboard, which was his, a dirty look, seeing as he had thought that he had lost it a few weeks ago, but apparently York had taken it to use as a table in his room, the skateboard being now covered in potato chips and a potato chip bag. However, one perk about York's room was that he had every needed snack food you could think of; a great source for some comfort food in a pinch or on a lonely night.

"This looks atrocious." The woman commented, giving York's room an almost disgusted once over. "Please tell me I'll never have to come in here."

"Only if he doesn't steal your stuff... hope you've got hologram locks, ma'am." Wash replied in an almost groaning fashion, waltzing away towards the twin's room. "Here's North's and South's bedroom... don't touch anything, South will know." He shivered, as if recalling a terrible memory. "... She'll find out." He repeated in a hollow tone.

The twins had a decent place, well, North's side was decent, South's was hardcore. The room was separated right down the middle with purple tape (Surely North's doing after a long fight). North's side was tidy and without much mess, besides a pile of unwashed laundry in the corner that everyone knew he'd get to eventually. South's side was covered wall to wall in posters advertising hardcore bands, company logos, fashion magazines, and other assorted things, while her floor had empty spray bottles of perfume and nail polish containers; no one could say South wasn't stylish. All in all, the place was a room no one, not even Florida, ever really entered unless South gave the okay. One time, North had invited York and Wash in to watch some kind of movie in there... they could still hear the screaming...

"Nice place." The woman commented, looking at South's side more fondly. "I think I'd like her."

Washington was tempted to laugh, but knowing his luck, South would surely hear him. "Okay... wanna see Wyoming and Florida's room?" He asked. After the Freelancer nodded, he led her there, grinning as he led the tour.

Florida and Wyoming's room was quite the odd one; Wyoming's side had completely white walls and a tan carpet, making it rather bland, especially since not even one stain was on that floor (Wyoming wouldn't stand for it). Florida's side was much less tasteless, the walls being covered in a floral wallpaper and the carpet being perfectly blue, much like Florida's armor. Both sides did have small things scattered about; Wyoming had a few discarded tea bags, teacups, a torn up British flag (Surely York's doing), a few empty cases of mustache wax, and a few... questionable magazines. Florida's side had much less questionable magazines (Unless discussing his sexuality maybe), flower petals, bullets, a few gun holsters, a discarded pair of pants, a missing boot, and an empty bottle of scotch. The whole place smelled like tea and roses.

"So, there are more girls on your team than I thought." The woman said, admiring Wyoming's side a bit more.

Wash gave her a confused look. "Um... Wyoming and Florida are both boys..."

"Really?" The woman didn't seem convinced. "The flower side looks like it belongs to a chick."

"Maybe we should move..." Wash suggested, already walking towards Maine and Connie's bedroom.

"Washington!" Carolina snapped suddenly, making Wash screech and jump at least three feet in the air, landing in the visitor's arms. "I told you, stop bringing your damn Red Vs Blue friends over here; we're still trying to get rid of the glitter from Donut's 'redecorating' bullshit." She suddenly stopped, looking directly at the lady holding Wash. "Hey... you're not a simulation trooper at all, are you?"

The woman shook her head, dumping Wash on the floor as she stepped forward, holding out her hand to shake it with Carolina. "Name's Texas, but my friends all call me Tex." She explained, nodding at the red-headed Freelancer.

"Wait a minute... you're the chick from the Insurrectionist's base... the girl who saved me, York, and Connecticut." Carolina said, not yet shaking Tex's hand, staring her down. "We could've handled it you know; it would've been a breeze."

"You would've died; you were outnumbered and outgunned. You know, most fuckers would be a bit more grateful if I saved their ass." Tex said, stepping dangerously close, letting her hand fall to her side. A purple, tiny dragon sticker animal popped up on Tex's shoulder, growling at Carolina.

Carolina backed off, Eta and Iota coming to life on instinct. "You have an A.I. Animal!?" She yelled, glaring at the dragon with her own burning emerald eyes meeting violent violets; Eta and Iota hissed deeply before changing to swords, landing in Carolina's ready hands. "Only the Director has access to that type of technology..."

Tex shrugged, reaching back and scratching underneath the dragon's chin, making it let out a purr-like groan/growl. "His name is Omega, or O'Malley as he prefers it; the Director gave him to me months ago."

"He bit me on the ride here..." Wash announced, Epsilon popping up onto his head, purring deeply to sooth Wash's back pain from landing on the floor. "Not exactly the most friendly little fella."

"Wash," Carolina's tone was angry and dangerous, making Wash gulp, backing up, only to have his back bum into Tex's chest; the black clad Freelancer must've smirked under her helmet as she crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side. "Why in God's name did you let Texas onto our ship!?"

"Well... the Director ordered me to; me and York got cornered on our mission by a bunch of little worm monsters, then Tex came and beat 'em into the dirt. After we got York on the ship, I called the Director, just like you told me to whenever anybody got knocked out on a mission; he saw Tex and told me to bring her back to base and give her a room... sorry." Wash stared at the floor, Epsilon mewled halfheartedly.

Carolina was fuming, but for once it wasn't completely caused by Wash, York, or Florida. "I need to call him." She announced, ready to storm past Tex and go to the call room, only to be stopped by said Freelancer. "Outta my way."

"Hey, I ain't pleased about this either, kid." Tex said, Omega nodding in agreement. "But it's the Director's orders... you wanna piss him off, then fine, call him; I'll just let Wash show me a room and leave you be."

"I'm gonna say this once, and once only, Tex; I don't like you, and I don't want you endangering my squad, you got that?" Carolina asked, getting right up in Tex's face, ignoring the fact that Wash was stuck awkwardly between them, trying to squeeze out. Omega kept grabbing the back of his helmet with his tail and pulling him back into the conflict; Epsilon hissed, batting at Omega, only to get scared and return to his sticker.

Tex glared at Carolina; said red-head could almost see those bright blues from behind Tex's visor, but it was impossible to see the exact color past the wave of orange. "Alright, listen here, Carolina, let's make a deal; I don't push your buttons, and you don't push mine, got it?"

"Got it." Carolina bit out, gritting her teeth at the older woman.

"You know, I just realized something." Wash announced as Carolina finally slipped past Tex, storming off in a wave of anger.

Tex nodded at Wash, edging him to continue. "Shoot." She ordered.

"Our team kinda sucks; we keep getting our asses handed to us." Wash admitted, frowning sadly at the floor. "When I got hired onto this team... I expected alot less fucking hate going around."

"That's life, kid; get used to it." Tex said, storming past Wash, nearly shoving him into the wall. "Fuck it, I'll find my own room; why don't you go train or some shit, looks like you need it." She suggested, Omega grinning evilly at Wash from Tex's shoulder, winking at him as she turned a corner and disappeared.

"Well... that was interesting..." Wash said, waltzing away in a huff.

Alot was changing at once; the A.I. Animals, the weapons, the team members, and now Tex showing up outta the blue... this truly would be interesting very soon, and alot more so as time wore on. The question was, how much time was left?

[Next Chapter: As Tex adjusts to life with the Bravest Freelancers, they get called in on a mission to go and save the "Blood Gulch Crew", as Wash and everyone else calls them. But after saving them and bringing them home, it looks like they've made themselves comfortable, and don't wanna leave! Can York and Tucker bond over shitty one-liners, will North befriend a bubbly Caboose, will Donut and Florida exchange fashion tips, can Tex ignore Church long enough to keep their relationship hidden from the team, can Sarge actually destroy the base on accident?]

A/N: Sorry for the shit chapter and not showing more of the base, I got bored of that and wanted to speed shit up. The next chapter is gonna be a blast though, can't wait to write it out soon! Also, I'm gonna try and cut out the sad shit; this is supposed to be a happy story, but apparently, my inner sad does not understand that (At least it's still funny). Please comment!

~Supercasey.

**Author's Note:**

> Coming Soon...
> 
> Episode 2: During a mission gone wrong, Wyoming manages to piss off a Aeon Worm, who then proceeds to send the Freelancers spiraling through alternate universes in search of 479er, who's been kidnapped by the Aeon Worm.


End file.
